Instructions

ZOOM IN by clicking on the page. A slider will appear, allowing you to adjust your zoom level. Return to the original size by clicking on the page again.

MOVE the page around when zoomed in by dragging it.

ADJUST the zoom using the slider on the top right.

ZOOM OUT by clicking on the zoomed-in page.

SEARCH by entering text in the search field and click on "In This Issue" or "All Issues" to search the current issue or the archive of back issues
respectively.
.

PRINT by clicking on thumbnails to select pages, and then press the
print button.

SHARE this publication and page.

ROTATE PAGE allows you to turn pages 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise.Click on the page to return to the original orientation. To zoom in on a rotated page, return the page to its original orientation, zoom in, and
then rotate it again.

CONTENTS displays a table of sections with thumbnails and descriptions.

ALL PAGES displays thumbnails of every page in the issue. Click on
a page to jump.

30 The Dairyman SEPTEMBER 2009
PRODUCTS
IT'S probably not recommended to have
your cow shed "sounding like a disco",
says assistant farm manager Karl
Thomasen. But farm owner Dennis Phillips
says being able to source radio and internet
in the cowshed is just one benefit of the
Protrack automation system.
"Sports, the rugby, music channels -- any-
thing you can get on the net you can have on
in the cow shed," Dennis said.
Milking 400 cows on 174ha just outside
Rotorua, Dennis and his wife Barbara have
been on the same farm for 25 years. The
decision to upgrade to a new rotary shed
from a herringbone one last year was
prompted by a desire to spend less time in
the cowshed.
Dennis installed the Protrack Vantage
farm automation system and said he is still
getting to grips with all the benefits.
"When I first started milking you only
milked 100-150 cows and it was easy to
know every cow. But with numbers getting
up higher now you can lose touch, this defi-
nitely makes keeping track of individual
cows a lot easier."
Karl agreed: "It automatically tells you at
the end of milking how many cows have
come through, you can
easily tell if you are
missing cows.
"Quite often Karl will
do the night milking and
we take turns doing the
morning milking. I can
just turn up in the morn-
ing and if there is a cow
with mastitis the comput-
er tells me.
"When we are doing mating, if Karl sees a
cow at night that needs to be put up for AB
the next day he just punches in the number
and it will tell me the next day."
"For herd management it is the best thing
we ever did," he said.
"Karl was away and I was able to draft out
30 cows without even getting out of the
pit. In the old herringbone shed I would have
been up and down running back and forth
like a yo-yo opening gates. With this system
you just punch the numbers in and keep
milking, it's far less stress."
Less stress on the cows and less stress on
staff in managing the herd means Dennis can
spend more time away from the shed.
"If you do have to get relief staff in, the
system will tell them if there is a three-titter
cow coming round, they know not to put all
the cups on, or if a cow kicks, you are not
setting them up because the computer will
speak to you and tell you."
Dennis said if farmers were putting in a
new cow shed "you'd be a mug if you didn't
put something like this in with it".
"You can spend all this money and without
Protrack you are still a two-man shed, you
just make life difficult for yourself.
"I can sit in the house and watch the cows
going around the platform if I want to. I can
draft them out from the comfort of the
lounge," he said.
Of course the cows might miss listening to
the music and sport if he were to do that.
--- copy supplied
Tracking system
has plenty of perks
STRONG:
As strong as concrete: SurePave takes loads of
more than 500 tonnes per sq/m
EASY:
SurePave requires minimal maintenance
QUICK:
SurePave can be installed between milkings
and used immediately
IDEAL FOR SLOPES:
SurePave keeps it's shape with minimal
scouring or maintenance
SurePave is a plastic honeycomb paving
system that creates a consistent, long term
surface that is easy on your cows' feet and
requires absolutely minimal maintenance.
Keeping the girls happy
Phone now for your paving solution
0800 787 383
Email: sales@suretechindustries.co.nz
Before
After
100%
100%
recycled
Made
in
New
Zealand
Easy
installation.
With the big panel
sizes and unique, positive
interlocking feature, SurePave
is extremely fast and simple to
install.